Performance Improvement Ideas

"Redeemed - Finding Unity with God Made Possible through the Redemption of Christ."

October 16, 2009 by Mike Strawbridge

I am a simple person and I like things explained to me in simple terms. So I have always been annoyed that in church we use so many big words that have to be explained. Words like salvated and baptated and today’s word redemalated. My personal thought is that this has grown from an ego driven desire to make leaders feel power over their followers. But I was wrong once before, I think.

So today we are talking about the word “redeemed.” It is used a lot in the bible and in hymns and in all of Christianity. But what does it really mean? How can we apply this idea to the benefit of our lives today?

redeem

1. To recover ownership of by paying a specified sum.
2. To pay off (a promissory note, for example).
3. To turn in (coupons, for example) and receive something in exchange.
4. To fulfill (a pledge, for example).
5. To convert into cash: redeem stocks.
6. To set free; rescue or ransom.
7. To extricate from an undesirable state.
8. To make up for: The low price of the clothes dryer redeems its lack of special features.
9. To restore the honor, worth, or reputation of: You botched the last job but can redeem yourself on this one.

redemption
n.
10. The act of redeeming or the condition of having been redeemed.
11. Recovery of something pawned or mortgaged.
12. The payment of an obligation, as a government's payment of the value of its bonds.
13. Deliverance upon payment of ransom; rescue.
14. Repayment of the principal amount of a debt or security at or before maturity
15. Purchasing back something previously sold

I am sure you are all now humming the song by Fanny Crosby - “Redeemed how I love to proclaim it!”

Romans 3:23

for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;

24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus;

God’s original plan for man was that man would be the physical expression of God in a physical world. This original intention is presented in the story of Adam and Eve. They lived in an ideal situation where their every need and desire was provided for instantly without any effort on their part. Everything they wanted was manifest immediately for them. They walked with God and talked with God and expressed themselves in their own unique manner.

But then every thing changed. You all know the story – the serpent and Eve get the blame, but it was their own choices that made the deference.

They decided to allow their egos to grow to a point where they decided that not all of God’s creation was good. The “ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” They decided they knew better than God did what was good and what was bad. So sin was then born into the world.

The result of the sin or rather the definition of sin is a separation from God. The Hebrew word that we translate as SIN is an archery term meaning to miss the target. In other words, by separating ourselves from God and trusting in our own egos and resources, we miss the target that God planned for us.

This is how the whole drama of human life has unfolded.

When Jesus sacrificed his life so that he could raise himself from the dead, he set about a process of creating a new species of humans.

Before Jesus, it seems it was very difficult for people to return to direct communication with God. Or at least very few people did it. They seamed to have a poor understanding or the meaning behind their religious practice mostly due to the ego driven way that is was taught to them.

The concept of sacrifice is difficult for us to understand today and was probably misunderstood by many of those who practiced it then.

For example, I would have a hard time taking a litter of puppies or kittens, examining each one to find the one that was most perfect and then slitting its throat and burning the body. Why would a loving God demand such a thing? It is almost too horrible to think about.

That is because we think in terms of our limitations and our separation from God. By sacrificing the most perfect of a group, God was causing them to think about his unlimited abundance. And to make them realize that there should be no attachment to physical things – even animals or people. If we are truly living in harmony with God’s spirit, then we will see that nothing really matters. Through God we can create any thing we need or desire. We were created to be creators in the image of God.

But since the time Adam and Eve left the garden, man has looked for ways to create things from his own efforts. We have lost sight of our original mission in life.

Jesus’ resurrection made it possible to change all that. He gave us a way to Get our Title back from Title Max or Cherokee Financial. Redeemed!

By having the spirit of Jesus living in us we have a method that allows us to once again communicate with God’s Holy spirit and feel the peace of being connected to God and all of creation. We can never again experience lack because God owns all that is.

Jesus’ resurrection has redeemed us from the curse of separation that was brought about by Adam and Eves choices in the garden.

We are like coupon being exchanged for something of value. Without Jesus’ redemption, we are just reasonable facsimiles of what God wants us to be. Once the spirit of Jesus is within us, we have the ability to once again be all that God want us to be. To be what we were created to be.

Through Jesus, we are fulfilled, set free and rescued form our state of separation form God. We are extricated from an undesirable state. Our honor is restored. We reclaim our worth or reputation as a child of God.

We were loaned out to our egos and separation from God, but Jesus paid off the mortgage and redeemed us back to our original state.

So what does this mean to our daily lives?

It means we no longer have to worry about anything. As a child of God we have the ability to create any life we choose. As long as we continue to place our faith in God and not in our own limited power, all things are possible.

When you feel fear or pain, you are feeling separation from God. Remember that Jesus has redeemed you from that separation and you may choose to feel connected to God’s power any time you want to.

If you feel unimportant, just remember that God made you for a special reason. Through Jesus’ redemption you can feel important because you are.

If you feel lonely, remember that through Jesus you are connected to all that is. You can talk to God any time because he is always with you.

Anytime you feel something that you would rather not feel, just replace it with the feeling of redeemed.

Mike Strawbridge October 16, 2009

Long lost lecture by Wallace D. Wattles, author of "The
Science of Getting Rich", reveals the shocking truth about
Jesus of Nazareth!